French carmaker Renault's sister company Dacia has unveiled the Soul of Dakar Edition of the new generation Duster on December 9. This is a show car to officially celebrate the company, but the CEO has said that a line of similar cars could also hit the showrooms.
The company officially revealed the car in November last year and is preparing to launch it in the global market including India. The new Duster will now come with a hybrid engine option. Recently its right hand drive model was unveiled.
Renault will launch the new generation Duster in the Indian market under its own brand in the second half of 2025. Renault launched the first generation Duster in India only in 2012 and it was discontinued in early 2022. This was the company's first model in the compact SUV segment in India.
New Generation Duster: Platform, Dimensions, Exterior Design The new generation Duster is based on the CMF-B platform. This platform has been jointly developed by Dacia, Renault and Nissan. The new Renault Duster continues with its butch look that gives it a strong off-roader appeal. Looks like the Dacia Bigster concept model.
The car is more aggressive than before. The car features Y-shaped LED headlights, vertical air inlets and a newly designed front bumper with skid plates. In addition, the car features a newly designed bonnet, square wheel arches and V-shaped taillights.
However, the Renault-branded Duster SUV will have some design differences when it debuts next year. This car will come with 5 and 7 seat options. Its length has been increased from the current model to 4340mm, while the wheelbase has been reduced to 2,657mm.
New Renault Duster: Interior Design The new Duster features a double-layer dashboard, with light and dark gray shades. The center console is slightly tilted towards the driver. Two digital screens will be available in the high variant. This includes a 7-inch screen for the driver and a 10.1-inch touchscreen for the infotainment. A horizontal panel below the center AC vent houses several buttons that control the infotainment and HVC system.
A 12V power socket and a USB outlet are placed at the bottom. The manual gearbox-equipped Duster's gear lever seems to be taken from the current Renault model and looks similar to the Kigar and Triber in India. Higher variants also get an automatic gearbox option and an electronic parking brake. The three-spoke steering wheel feels heavy and has buttons for infotainment, telephony and cruise control.
Features on the top-spec Duster will include wireless charging and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, automatic climate control and an ArcGIS 3D sound system with 6 speakers. The new Duster will also get safety features like ADAS including automatic emergency braking.
The new Duster will have 3 engine options The upcoming SUV will have 3 engine options. The car will come with off-roading capabilities. The car can get a 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine, which generates 154bhp of power. Second, it could get a 1.0-litre turbo petrol.
Apart from this, it will also have a 1.2-litre hybrid petrol engine option, which will generate 170bhp of power and 200Nm of peak torque. For transmission, these engines will be tuned with a 5-speed gearbox.
New Generation Renault Duster: Expected Price If media reports are to be believed, the new Duster may be launched around Rs 20 lakh. It will compete with Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Tigun, Skoda Kushak, Maruti Suzuki Grant Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Highrider in the Indian market.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
